November 29, 20XX Mr. Reginald Carridge Regiona

November 29, 20XX
Mr. Reginald Carridge
Regional Manager, Region 620
Evening Shades, Inc.
14 Harbortown Court
Pittsfield, MD 21782
Dear Mr. Carridge:
Enclosed is the report “Improving Employee Performance
through Training and Clear Memos,”
per your request following my proposal memo of earlier this
month.
This report analyzes the in-office correspondence of Store
#5820 and seeks to improve the
format. Additionally, training procedures are analyzed and
suggestions are made to improve
the training process.
Thank you for your time in reading this report, and I hope the
findings prove useful for your
decisions with regard to these matters in the future.
Sincerely,
Jonas Dawson

Assistant Manager, Store #5820
Improving Employee Performance through Training and Clear
Memos
Submitted to Reginald Carridge
Regional Manager, Region 620
Evening Shades, Inc.

By
Jonas Dawson
Assistant Manager, Store #4719
November 29, 20XX
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview of Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Methods
Primary Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Secondary Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Results
Importance of Consistent Training .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Survey of Current Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Memo Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Memo Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix A: Training Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix B: Work Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iii
iv
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
iii
TABLE OF TABLES
Figure One: Responses to training survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure Two: Example memo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recently at the Pittsfield Mall Outlets location of Evening
Shades, the management has become
increasingly frustrated at its inability to motivate associates to
perform the duties assigned to
them. After cycling through numerous associates, it is clear that
some problem must exist that
is preventing new hires from understanding their duties enough
to accomplish them.
A survey for our associates was designed and administered to
determine what the causes of the
confusion could be. The results of this survey confirmed that a
lack of consistent training was
one contributing cause. Currently, corporate permits twenty-
four hours of training. However,
this region permits only nine of those twenty four hours because
of payroll constraints.
Additionally, associates appeared frustrated and confused about
tasks assigned to them. One
reason was found to be the lack of a common template available
for managers to use when
assigning store tasks. As a result, managers are left to their own
devices to compose documents
for assigning tasks and monitoring employee completion. The
great variation in the documents
used by managers was found to cause confusion among
employees. To rectify these issues, two

solutions are recommended:
-
allotted twenty-four hours
should be implemented.
Second, standard templates for in-store memoranda should
implemented to improve
associate performance and reduce employee turnover.
1
Introduction
Background
Within the past year, Store #5810 of Region 620 of Evening
Shades has hired and lost one
associate every three months. The allotted staffing for the store
is only four associates, so the
processing of one associate every three months is significant in
terms of lost sales and resources
spent on recruiting, onboarding and training. Additionally,
because of the low number of
associates, losing one can cause large schedule gaps, often
resulting in unplanned store closings
because of a lack of employee coverage. The lack of trained
employees can also result in
unplanned overtime on the part of our management, which not

only costs the company additional
payroll but is a considerable inconvenience to our full -time
staff.
Additionally, new and under-trained employees often do not
complete their assigned tasks
adequately or at all. Because we often work in a single coverage
environment, when associates do
not complete their tasks, the next associate must complete the
missed tasks on top of their own.
Depending on the tasks that need to be made up, this can be
very frustrating for the next
associate or may even be beyond their abilities, leaving more
responsibility for the manager.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the causes employee
turnover. Analysis of associate
training and of communications between the management and
associates led to the identification
of ways to improve training and communication, thus possbily
improving associate performance,
reducing employee turnover, and increasing store profits.
Overview of Methodology
The following methods were used to analyze manager-to-
associate communication.
importance of standardized store
training in similar companies

and their knowledge of store
operations
training of associates and
communication from managers
2
Methods
Primary Research
Primary research was performed at the Pittsfield Mall Outlets
location of Region 620. Four of the
current associates were administered a uniform survey with 10
questions pertaining to training
and store operations. The results of these surveys were used to
determine the uniformity of
training at this particular Evening Shades location.
Additional primary research was collected in the form of
internal correspondence at Evening
Shades. This correspondence was analyzed to determine
possible causes of miscommunication

and provide a springboard for a duty assignment template.
Secondary Research
Secondary research was collected from a variety of peer -
reviewed and open source articles to
gauge the importance of uniform in-store training. Also, online
publications as well as a
management communications textbook were used to analyze the
current memo style and suggest
a template for the new style.
3
Results
Importance of Consistent Training
According to Owens (2006), training has always been a source
of wide contention in business:
“Training . . . is laden with issues regarding its contribution to
organizational value and employee
effectiveness” (p. 163). The less training provided translates
directly to a lesser amount spent on
training payroll, meaning lower upfront costs. However, future
costs of undertrained employees
can far outweigh the initial gains.
Owens (2006) sought to find what benefits training can have for
employees in an organization
beside the tangible learning benefits. Owens discovered that
“employees who receive training will

report higher levels of job satisfaction than those employees
who do not receive training (p. 164).
Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to
perform better than dissatisfied
employees. In tandem with job satisfaction, “Past research has
alluded to the possibility that
training may affect quit rates” (Owens, p. 164). Employee
turnover can become a significant cost
to the company, as not only must resources be devoted to
finding an adequate replacement, but
additional resources must be applied to train the new hire and
sales are potentially lost due to
inexperience. According to Sullivan (2007), “Studies indicate
that the cumulative cost of losing a
current employee and then hiring and training a new team
member to replace them is
approximately $6000 per employee” (p. 56).
In addition to perceivable costs, additional pressure is put on
other employees and management
when turnover occurs (Cação, 2007, p. 24). If employees are not
given enough training, managers’
ability to handle their own position in addition to the
shortcomings of the staff can become
insurmountable: “Results cannot usually be achieved by any
single manager just ‘doing it all
themselves’. Everyone needs to be good at his or her own job
and preferably with a high degree of
self-sufficiency too” (Forsyth, 2006, p, 34).
Because at Evening Shades we often work single coverage in
our locations, training becomes even
more important because we cannot always predict when we will
need more coverage to meet
demand. Under-trained employees will not be ready for
surprises like this. However, trained

employees will be “better prepared when [a surprise] comes,
even if [they] don’t know exactly
what it will be” (Bayless, 2007, p. 214). Employees that work
alone often feel insecure, as they are
in effect the manager on duty. This great responsibility can
detrimentally affect sales if the
employee is not confident in his or her abilities. However, as
Sullivan (2007) found, “. . . training
builds confidence. Confidence builds sales” (p. 18).
Survey of Current Employees
To illustrate the importance of uniform training, I composed a
short test that was completed by
four associates in store #5820. The questions tested for product
knowledge as well as store
operations. A copy of this survey is included at the end of this
document in Appendix A. The figure
below shows each question and whether the answer was correct
or incorrect for each associate.
4

Figure One: Responses to training survey
The results of this survey illustrate how varied knowledge of
products and store operations can be.
These discrepancies also suggest lapses in training and how
these lapses occur in different areas
for different associates. Based on this survey, nine hours does
not seem enough to adequately
train an associate in the necessary details of store operations.
Memo Analysis
Frequently, tasks assigned to associates are not completed or
are completed inadequately. As
stated earlier, these failures can become frustrating to the
person running the next shift, who
must now complete the missed duties before completing his/her
own. Figure 2 provides an
example note left by a manager to one of the associates. It
illustrates how problematic written
communication can become.

Figure Two: Example manager note
5
Reviewing this note, numerous potential problems can be
identified. Bell and Smith (1999)
address some common problems which this note seems to
exemplify:
1. Not addressed to anybody for any particular time.
It is of no surprise that an Evening Shades associate may
overlook this note. Not
only is the note not specified to a particular recipient; there is
no indication of
when this note was written. Most people would assume this note
was for someone
else and quickly forget they even it.

2. The Telegram Writer.
Note the incomplete nature of the bottom part of the note.
Readers are left to
wonder what “it” is and what exactly should be processed.
3. The Scrawler.
Vacuum is misspelled. Thus, the credibility of the document is
diminished, and
associates may be more inclined to skip the note and question
whether the
manager really cared if the tasks needed to be accomplished in
the first place.
Bell and Smith also suggest four questions to identify the
completeness of a message:
1. What can be misinterpreted?
Unfortunately, virtually every part of this memo can be
misinterpreted. Within the
store, there are multiple rooms that can be mopped, as well as
multiple sets of
carpets. Additionally, there often can be multiple boxes waiting
to be verified, and
there is no identification of a specific box within this memo.
2. What options does the message allow me?
The note forces the reader to choose which shipment is meant,
thus opening up the
possibility of an incorrect shipment.
3. What response does the message seem to ask for?

This memo is simply a list of tasks. The writer makes a
dramatic assumption that
the reader intuitively knows exactly what the writer is thinking,
which is always
problematic in the work environment.
4. Does the message ask for that response in a specific way?
The memo does not ask for anything, although it should be
asking the associate to
perform certain duties and to verify their completion.
By most standards, this memo fails communicate adequately to
support business operations at
this Evening Shades location.
6
Creating a Memo Template
Since the current duty assignment memo is clearly
unsatisfactory, a template must be created to
fix the problem. According to Nancy Mercurio (2005), “More
information is always better [and]
when the purpose is clearly communicated in written
documentation, the expectation is clear and
the employees will be more attentive” (p. 12). Using the
suggestions from the InfoMap website, a

template (Appendix B) has been created for future memos
intended to assign duties to associates.
Compared to the previous memo, the new memo format is much
clearer in its intentions. The
name and the date appear prominently at the top, reducing
confusion of who is supposed to
accomplish which task and when. The task headings are
highlighted, guiding the reader’s eye to
the tasks. If the reader requires clarification on a particular
task, there is a description area directly
beneath. Guiding the reader’s eye in this manner is the key to
effective information mapping. As
readers in a fast-paced business, we are inclined to skim a
document and tend to only retain
information that is highlighted or bolded. The above document
adheres to these precepts, as
suggested by the principles of info mapping (InfoMapping,
2007).
Using the questions which Bell and Smith present, one can see
the distinct difference between the
original memo and the new template:
1. What can be misinterpreted?
The memo is clearly written to a particular person for a
particular date, and
descriptions of each task are provided. Thus, the possibility of
misinterpretation is
greatly reduced.
2. What options does the message allow me?
Options have been reduced to carrying out the task assigned and
described.

3. What response does the message seem to ask for?
This memo is asking for certain tasks to be completed, and it
does so in a succinct
and clear manner.
4. Does the message ask for that response in a specific way?
The memo itemizes each task clearly with a description beneath
and a checkbox to
be used.
7
Recommendations
From the research performed, it is apparent that the store should
strongly consider using the total
twenty-four hours of allotted training payroll instead of nine.
The additional training will likely
bolster associate confidence, leading to better sales as well as
increasing job satisfaction and
reducing turnover. As the research predicts, the cost of the
additional fifteen hours will be
outweighed by benefits to the store’s overall business and profit
margin.
With respect to associates not performing their duties, it is clear
that a revised assignment memo
is a necessary first step toward resolving this issue. Previous
manager memos were ambiguous
and contained little explanation as to who the note was for or
when the assignments were

supposed to be completed. The new memo template provides
space for each of these important
elements, as well as space for the major tasks and descriptions
if the reader requires them.
Training payroll should immediately be increased to a total of
twenty-four hours region wide.
Because this amount is allotted by corporate, no special
permission will be required from the
Regional Vice President. Also, the template for the assignment
memo should be distributed via
email to all Evening Shades locations in Region 620.
8
References
Bayless, M. (2007). Five steps to running a successful shift.
Gourmet Retailer, 28(8), 214-215.
Retrieved from http://www.gourmetretailer.com
Bell, A. H. & Smith, D. M. (1999) Management communication
(2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Cação, R. (2007). Maturity in large scale corporate learning.
International Journal of Advanced
Corporate Learning. 7(3), 24-28. doi: 10.3991/ijac.v7i3.4005.
Forsyth, P. (2006). All wings and no feet. Engineering
Management, 16(2), 34-35. doi:

11.1835/0265.43.4.500
Information mapping (2007). Retrieved November 9, 2007 from
http://www.infomap.com/.
Mercurio, N. (2005). Managing employee expectations: The
simple truth. Canadian Manager,
30(2), 12-13. Retrieved from http://cim.ca
Owens Jr., P. (2006). One more reason not to cut your training
budget: The relationship between
training and organizational outcomes. Public Personnel
Management. 35(2), 163-172. doi:
10. 2772639.ppm
Sullivan, J. (2007). “Penny-wise” strategies for hiring, training
and retaining staff lead to same-
store sales gains. Nation’s Restaurant News, 41(36), 18-56.
Retrieved from http://nrn.com
9
Appendix A: Training Survey
1) Is Bolle a Luxottica brand?

a. Yes
b. No
2) What is CR39?
a. An alloy in Oakley frames
b. A type of lens similar to polycarbonate
c. Scratch-resistant compound
3) How long do customers have to EXCHANGE glasses?
a. 30 days
b. One Year
c. Indefinitely
4) How long is the in-store warranty for watches?
a. 30 days
b. One Year
c. No in-store warranty
5) Which of these Oakley sunglasses do NOT have
interchangeable lenses?
a. Radar Pitch
b. Half Jacket

c. Flak Jacket
d. Straight Jacket
6) Which of these brands are NOT eligible for the $20 discount
coupon?
a. Maui Jim
b. Revo
c. Rayban
d. Arnette
7) How many times can a customer use the Evening Shades
Replacement Discount?
a. Once
b. Unlimited times within the replacement period
c. As many times as they wish
8) Which of these is NOT a feature of Maui Jim sunglasses?
a. Polarized
b. Photochromatic
c. 100% UV Protectant
d. Bi-Gradient Tinting
9) Which of these is NOT a feature of titanium frames?

a. Flexible and have a memory
b. Hypo-allergenic
c. Lightweight
d. Malleable
10) Which of the following brands receive a full year warranty
directly through us?
a. Bolle
b. Rayban
c. Chanel
d. Serengeti
10
ASSIGNMENTS FOR _________________ ON
__________________
NAME
DATE
Description:

_____________________________________________________
________________________
_____________________________________________________
______
_____________________________________________________
______
Description:
_____________________________________________________
________________________
_____________________________________________________
______
_____________________________________________________
______
Description:
_____________________________________________________
________________________
_____________________________________________________
______
_____________________________________________________

______
Description:
_____________________________________________________
________________________
_____________________________________________________
______
_____________________________________________________
______
ASSIGNED BY _________________ ON __________________
NAME
DATE
Appendix B: Work Template

November 29, 20XX Mr. Reginald Carridge Regiona

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